Stolen Apples
by NarcissaaMalfoy
Summary: Emma is tired of not knowing whether her feelings for Regina are mutual so she attempts to make peace before leaving town. However, nothing ever goes according to plan in Storybrooke and Emma finds herself having to restore the Mayor's memory. SwanQueen. Oneshot. I'm rubbish at summaries, sorry .


**This is my first attempt at a SwanQueen fic. I love Once Upon A Time and SwanQueen so I thought I would give it a go. I can't remember where I got the prompt for this, it was on tumblr somewhere so if anyone who reads it knows then let me know so I can credit properly!**

**I'd really love it if people could send me prompts for SwanQueen so I can practice writing them and improve somewhat (I think improvement is incredibly necessary here!). **

**Enjoy xo**

* * *

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Regina demanded, striding across the lawn towards her prized apple tree where Emma was happily filling up a basket. The sound of Regina's approach made her topple off of the stepladder Henry had borrowed from the garage and tucked away in the rose bushes for her. What Regina was doing awake and still dressed in her usual beautiful attire at 3am, Emma did not know. The house was completely dark when she had snuck into the garden, she was certain of it. Henry had even told her via walkie-talkie that Regina had gone to bed hours ago.

Pulling herself up into a sitting position, Emma collected the apples that had scattered themselves across the lawn and placed them in the basket one by one. A blush crept onto her pale face and Regina softened somewhat, fighting to retain an angry-yet-expectant expression, a hand on her hip as a sign of dominance.

"How dare you sneak in here and steal from me." When Emma appeared not to have heard her, Regina sighed and knelt down to help gather the fruit, speeding up the process so Emma would leave and she could go to bed. As soon as the last apple was dropped into the basket, Regina rose gracefully and held out a hand. Emma looked surprised as she reached out to grasp Regina's hand, assuming that she was going to help her up, but embarrassingly Regina had meant instead for her to hand over the basket of stolen fruit. She laughed quietly at herself and acquiesced before pulling herself to her feet.

"I was going to call a truce. Henry told me you bake apple turnovers so I was going to try and bake some for the two of you. You told me these were the best apples you've ever tasted, so…" Emma's blush deepened as she admitted this and awkwardly she thrust her hands into her pockets, trailing off and staring intently at the grass at her feet.

"A peace offering, Miss Swan? I didn't believe you to be capable of such a thing. It's not your style to surrender, is it? It is, however, your style when crime is involved." Regina smirked, pushing the basket further onto her arm to remind Emma that she was stealing, her eyes brightening at the opportunity to taunt the enemy.

"Henry should never have betrayed you to find me. I'm doing him more harm than good by being here; his crazy ideas about you cursing everybody from a fairytale land into Storybrooke are getting worse and I'm only fuelling that by being here. You're right, he's your son and I have no right to be a part of his life." Emma was crying now, her voice breaking as she spoke. Henry came to find her, he wanted her in his life, but she wasn't helping him and she knew it. He was just a kid, he has no idea what's best for him. She should have left Storybrooke after she dropped him home, but selfish curiosity had encouraged her to stay and falling in love with Regina had completely trapped her. Emma's natural tendency to keep her feelings private meant that she couldn't ask anybody for advice on the subject, and not knowing whether Regina felt the same way was absolute torture. She had hoped that baking her something would soften her a little bit and would encourage Regina to express more positive emotions towards her.

"You're leaving town?" Regina's usual domineering tone vanished and Emma was unsure what had replaced it. Perhaps it was surprise, but it sounded wrong. Emma hoped it was disappointment, but she knew she was getting her hopes up if she thought Regina would be anything but happy about her leaving. Not trusting her voice as tears streamed down her face, Emma simply nodded and hung her head.

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised. All I ask is that you avoid further contact with Henry before you leave; a clean break will be easier for him than a sentimental farewell." Her lip curled perfectly as the smirk crept back onto her face and she regained composure. Emma regretted looking up in time to see this; Regina's eyes always sparkled so brilliantly when she was being mean, and she adored it so much.

Emma watched as Regina turned and walked back towards her house. Feeling as though she was being watched, she glanced up to see Henry staring out of an open window, clearly roused by Regina's shouting or perhaps he had been watching her the whole time, tears glistening on his cheeks in the moonlight. The sight made her cry again, a pain in her chest forced her breath come in short, sharp bursts. She blew a kiss in Henry's direction which he reached out to pluck from the air before pressing his hand against his mouth. As though purposely trying to interrupt their pitiful attempt to say goodbye, a loud crash followed by a cry of pain came from the open door Regina had walked through only seconds ago. Henry looked excited the way he did when an 'Operation Cobra' idea took root in his mind, then he vanished from view and the curtains fell to cover the window.

Heart racing, Emma ran towards the pool of golden light spilling out across the lawn and stopped at the door. Regina was lying awkwardly on the ground surrounded by apples, a hand clutching a bloody spot on her forehead. Emma scanned the scene searching for details to make sense of what had happened. After mere seconds Emma had strung together the series of events that must have occurred; Regina's stiletto had snapped causing her to lose her balance and fall, hitting her head on the edge of the granite kitchen counter top as she went. Wasting no more time, Emma crossed the threshold and collapsed to the floor just as Henry entered the room. She pulled Regina into her arms to assess the damage to her head, brushing back Regina's hair and holding her close.

"What happened?" Emma asked to validate her theory, worry evident on her face. Henry passed her a wet cloth which Regina allowed Emma to hold to her head as she kicked off her shoes and wound an arm around Emma's waist. "Regina, are you okay?"

"I don't know," she muttered, tears threatening to spill and ruin her immaculate make-up. "I don't remember."

Henry and Emma exchanged concerned glances. Henry's earlier excitement had vanished when he had seen how truly worried Emma was, and his idea was obviously completely forgotten about when he had seen the way the mayor had sought comfort from his mother.

"Do you remember who you are? Who we are?" Emma gestured at herself and Henry, and the tears that had threatened moments ago began to fall, leaving tracks through her foundation.

"No!" She sobbed. "I know that you're both important to me but I don't think I know any more than that." She tried to sit up more to get a better look at the woman she was entwined with, but a cry of pain escaped he lips and she slumped back into Emma's embrace.

"Kid, I need you to help me. Find some ice and put it in another cloth, then bring me any first aid supplies you can find. Do you know where she keeps them?" Emma's tone was suddenly serious and authoritative. Henry nodded and darted off to get started, eager to help. "Henry, I'm moving her to the sofa." Emma yelled after him. Awkwardly with her free hand Emma struggled to remove her jacket and wrapped it around Regina's shoulders.

"Do you think you can stand up for me?" Emma asked, her free arm now entwined around Regina's waist to support her. Slowly, Emma pulled herself and Regina to their feet, feeling Regina slump all of her weight on her as they slowly made their way through the house to find the sofa. "Your ankle hurts, doesn't it?" Emma muttered as she noticed Regina limping slightly.

"I think I twisted it when my shoe broke." Emma smiled; Regina's memory loss wasn't going to last forever if she could remember that, but what if she resumed her outright hatred when she got her memory back? It wasn't worth thinking about, so Emma pushed the thought from her mind and focused on the situation at hand.

When Henry returned Regina was already looking and sounding better. Snuggled closely on the sofa, they had covered that Henry was her adopted son, that she lived in Storybrooke in Maine, her position as the mayor, and a vague recognition of Emma. The last one had confused Emma the most, for memories she was talking about seemed wrong - Regina spoke of how enjoyable their meetings always were and how pleasant they had always been to each other, outright asking at one point if Emma was her girlfriend. When Emma had said no to this Regina had sighed and a strange expression appeared on her face for a few seconds, leaving Regina somewhat frustrated as she searched for an alternative explanation of Emma's identity.

Together, she and Henry cleaned the wound and stopped the bleeding, encouraged Regina to swallow some painkillers, and tried to talk her into lying down and swapping Emma's jacket for a blanket. At this point, Regina had snapped her arm back from around Emma, pushed both of them through the sleeves, and folder her arms to create a challenge for whoever tried to remove it. To both Emma and Henry she seemed almost drunk; her strange behaviour seemed playful and childlike, but at the same time it seemed natural and as though Regina had been repressing this part of her personality and living behind a stern façade.

"But you hate that jacket! You always tell me how much it annoys you when I wear it." Emma raised her eyebrows and Regina laughed. Henry scratched his head in confusion.

"Don't be silly, I love this jacket!" Regina smiled and drank the rest of the water Henry had thought to bring through. She yawned widely and let herself drop sideways onto the cushions, closing her eyes and smiling still. Emma looked at her for a while, taking in the beauty of her face which seemed enhanced by the peacefulness and contentment etched all over it. A deep nagging feeling warned her that when Regina woke up in the morning she would be back to her old self, annoyed that Emma was here and that she had let her wear the jacket she appeared to loathe usually.

"You should get some sleep, kid. I'll stay and make sure she's alright." Emma accepted a hug from him before he left, walking as slowly as he could towards the door. Emma smiled after him and felt Regina reach around to grasp one of her hands, entwining their fingers and bringing her legs up onto Emma's lap as she drifted off into sleep.

Henry stopped in the doorway to look back at the scene. Had the room not been silent, Emma would not have heard his worried voice. "You're not really leaving, are you?" His expression forced a diluted return of the pain in her chest she had felt earlier and she knew instantly that lying to him would be futile.

"I don't know, kid. Let's just see how this plays out first." She lifted her's and Regina's entwined hands and nodded towards her sleeping form. Henry seemed comforted enough to leave and silence resumed once more.

As the sun started to illuminate the room, Emma decided it would be best to leave before people in the house stirred. She had decided overnight that she would cancel Regina's appointments to allow her a day of recovery and then come back to check on her later. She was sure Henry would give her a full report when he undoubtedly snuck out to visit her later, but she was resolutely set upon checking herself.

After ten minutes of trying to extract herself without waking Regina, Emma was free. She thought about trying to remove her jacket but realised it was too risky. Torn between wanting to stay all day to look after her and not wanting to be around when she woke up, Emma put off leaving by covering the mayor with a blanket she found upstairs and topping up the glass of water on the table by her head. She checked the cut on Regina's head and when she could put off leaving no longer, she kissed her forehead and left the room, making sure to take one last look at her sleeping face before closing the door and deciding to wake Henry up for school. She saw no sense in wasting this time – if Regina was going to wake up as her old self, then she wanted to spend as much time with Henry as she could before it was too late. A pang of guilt struck her when she realised she was taking advantage of Regina's poor condition, but say Regina woke up and was still perfectly pleasant and enjoyed Emma's company? Surely she would thank Emma for looking after Henry when she wasn't able to? Emma had no idea.

"I'll take you to Granny's for breakfast and if your mom isn't feeling up to making dinner I'll take you both out later." They were whispering and tip-toeing around, making sure Henry was ready before they locked up and left Regina alone. While Henry dressed and packed his lunchbox Emma had found Regina's diary of appointments, made a copy, and left a brief note explaining the situation. Feeling there was nothing more either of them could do, they left and began their day.

* * *

"So you haven't seen Pongo today? I know how much he likes stealing from the garbage bins around the back." Emma was bored; a lost dog was about as exciting as her job got lately. More than anything she wanted to be back in the office or perhaps the flat with Mary Margaret drinking hot chocolate. She had decided that before she went to check on Madame Mayor later she was going to uncharacteristically seek council from her best friend in Storybrooke. The chances were she already knew of Emma's feelings because Mary Margaret was so perceptive of that kind of thing. She just needed to swallow her pride and talk to her about it, find out what to do, and get a realistic assessment of the situation. She had considered talking to Doctor Hopper about it, but decided against that knowing how Regina would feel if her memory had returned and humiliation of being nice to Emma undoubtedly followed.

"Sorry, Emma." Ruby shrugged, setting down a hot chocolate topped with cinnamon in front of her that she had not ordered. "You look like you need it." She confessed, picking up a cloth and walking away to clean a recently vacated table. Sighing, Emma dropped into a stool and pulled the steaming mug closer to her, all professionalism lost from her face.

The usual stony silence fell over the diner that Emma associated with the arrival of the mayor, and not even bothering to turn around to look Emma assumed she had returned to her usual self, otherwise the reaction probably would have been different. Expecting an explosion of hatred, Emma braced herself and pretended not to notice her arrival.

"I believe these are yours, Miss Swan." The basket of apples appeared in her peripheral vision and the pressure of a hand delicately placed on the small of her back took her completely by surprise. "If I may, I'll have what she's having please, Ruby." Regina smiled at Ruby, her voice pleasant and light. Ruby almost fainted at the politeness of the address, and fumbled around clumsily to get the order sorted as quickly as she could. Chancing a sideways glance at Regina, Emma was stunned to see her leather jacket worn so nonchalantly over the mayor's usual attire.

"Thank you, Emma." Regina's voice was low, her hand still on Emma's back as she slid onto the stool next to her. "Henry told me what happened and although he shouldn't have been eavesdropping, he relayed to me the conversation we had outside last night. I'm sorry for my incessant rudeness, and I'd be grateful if you could come over later to discuss the matter of you wanting to leave town." Regina grinned at Ruby when her drink was placed in front of her, causing Ruby to look so shocked and confused it was almost comical.

"How's your head?" Emma asked, keeping void of emotion as though bracing herself for a sudden transformation back to her evil self.

"It's all fine, thanks to you! A slight headache is easily ignored, and it would appear my memory has completely returned."

"I wouldn't say 'completely'," Emma muttered, looking Regina up and down and tilting her head to the side in bewilderment. "If it had you would remember that you can't stand me. You wouldn't be so cosy with me right now, that's for sure."

It was Regina's turn to look confused. "You're being silly, Emma. Are you sure you didn't hit your head as well? You know how I feel about you." She laughed and shook her head.

"I'm starting to think I don't." Emma dipped her finger in the cinnamon-covered cream topping her drink and licked it off. Part of Emma was hopeful and felt that perhaps this change was permanent, but the rest of her was worried it was all some sort of conspiracy to weaken her. Oh she needed so much to talk to Mary Margaret to make sense of this. "Perhaps we should talk now; I'm fairly set on leaving at the end of my shift." Emma bluffed, gesturing toward the door.

* * *

Taking longer than necessary to lock her bug, Emma used the time to talk to Henry briefly over the walkie, insisting that he visit Mary Margaret after his session with Doctor Hopper and tell her that she said it was important he stay there until she gets home. He agreed, assuming it was an 'Operation Cobra' mission and insisted she would have to fill him in on it later.

"Emma?" Regina reappeared at the gate just as she threw the walkie into the glove compartment and locked the car. "I thought you'd left without telling me." She seemed relieved and held out a hand. Emma hesitated before taking it, reminding herself that she should take advantage of this situation regardless of how long it lasted - surely it was better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all.

Inside, they sat in the study, sipping Regina's whiskey and chatting idly about Henry, the town, Emma's job, and whatever else crossed their minds. Emma grew tired of the small talk, wanting to get the matter resolved before she could make a final decision about leaving. Feeling awkward and rude, Emma brought up the topic they were both so thoroughly avoiding.

"I'm still leaving town." Emma blurted out. "Your memory is going to return and we'll go back to the endless fighting. Henry will get hurt and then I'll have no reason to stay."

"Emma, when will you accept that this is truly how I feel? That bump on the head made me realise I'd been lying to myself about hating you. My memory is fine; it was a momentary blip." Regina sighed and put her glass down on the table between them. "If we despise each other then why did you stay last night? Why did you cancel all of my appointments and help me? Why would I still be wearing this?" She pulled at the jacket still draped over her shoulders. Emma said nothing. "You've had the whole day to leave town while I was sleeping and I wouldn't have known until it was too late. Henry wants you to stay, he begged me to stop the fighting with you so you'd be inclined to remain here on several occasions." There was a pause, a moment of silence for Emma to reflect on what Regina was saying.

"But why do _you_want me to stay?" Emma whispered, hoping heavily that she wouldn't reply with something relating to Henry and what was best for him.

"Because I need you to." Regina's voice was almost as quiet as Emma's. Strange butterflies squirmed in Emma's stomach as Regina rose and came to stand in front of her. Silently, Regina reached down to grasp Emma's free hand and pulled her slowly to her feet. Smiling and keeping her gaze fixed on Emma's face, she removed the glass from Emma's hand and set it down on the table before placing her hand on Emma's cheek. "I know how important it is for you to have solid proof before you believe anything; we are so very alike in that respect. So if you won't believe what I'm saying, I'll just have to prove it."

Slowly, agonisingly slowly, Regina leant in, her eyes still fixed on Emma's as their lips met. The movement of the butterflies in her stomach peaked and suddenly she was kissing her back, her eyes closed and her free hand pressing against the small of Regina's back. Regina laughed quietly and Emma felt her smile and pull her closer.

Leaving Storybrooke was no longer an option and Emma knew it.


End file.
